Snowdrop
by Legolas's heart and soul
Summary: Werewolf AU. One night on the quest, Legolas tells Aragorn about a certain someone. Non slash. Legomance.
1. Lost in the snow

Hey guys! So I know I should be continuing with 'Fading frost, frozen flame', but I needed to write this. Consider it a late Christmas present. So, I'm going to tell you right now, I am on my knees begging for reviews. This will probably be a one-shot, but I might add more chapters if I feel like it. Long one shot, though. Its kinda AU, actually completely AU, but I hope you still like it. So, enough of my chatter, on with the story! Merry christmas!

Gwador-gaur= wolf brother, referring to their lycanthropy. Told you it was AU! Theres one pack in Mirkwood, and the rangers are another.

Mellon=friend. Pretty sure you know that.

Elleth=elf woman

Edhel=elf

Startofstory

The fire crackled, sending bursts of sparks into the air, like fiery starbursts against the black backdrop of the night. Clothed in the silver of the stars and moon, a knarled old oak stood mere feet away from eight sleepers, blankets pulled tight around themselves for warmth against the chill of the night. Nearest the fire, four sleepers, who appeared children, lay curled so deep in their blankets only the top of their curly heads poked over their blankets. Four packs lay about a foot away. Another lay near, only he could never be mistaken for a child, for he sported a messy, red beard. Even in his sleep, he wore armor, and a wicked looking axe lay within reach. He snored so loudly, it was a wonder anyone else slept. A ginger haired man lay near, muttering in his sleep on occasion. He had shoulder length hair, and a trimmed beard. His shield, a round, red one, was carefully placed beside him. A few feet away slept a old man with grey hair and beard, clutching an oaken staff. His eyes were partially open. The eighth member of the company slept restlessly, tossing and turning in his blankets. He had an unshaven face, and tangled, messy dark hair. A ninth figure sat in the oak tree, almost invisible, exept when the light glinted on his silky, white-blond hair, pulled back in the warrior braids of Eryn Lasgalen, as he moved. His grey-blue eyes looked contemplativly into the night, inexplicably yet wonderfully entrancing, drawing one deep into them. He had a thin, well-formed face, with a nice jawline, a pale, elven-fair face. He wore green leggings and over tunic, a blue under-tunic, tooled vambraces, and leather boots. A quiver of arrows was strapped to his back, and two sheathed white knives. His lithe body was curled up against the trunk, one leg hung over the branch to dangle in thin, cold night air. He looked almost casual, in an elegant way, exept for the way his Greenwood bow hung in his hand, alternately hanging almost carelessly, and being squeezed so tight it nearly cracked, strong though it was, in the long, white, strong fingers. His demeanor was strangely sad, nostalgic, and his eyes never rested on something more than ten minutes, now on the fire, as he thought of how SHE ignited such a fire in his heart, now the stars, as he thought of her laughter in their light, now on the tree, as he thought of her elegance and pale, moony skin, now on nothing, as he thought of all of her, and how much he missed her, and endlessly moving his eyes, endlessly being reminded of her. His jaw worked as he swallowed, trying to get a grip on his wandering emotions. He couldn't stop thinking of her, and it interfered with his watch. The restless one had stilled, and then he stood andapproached the tree, staggering slightly with tiredness. He clutched his blanket around him against the cold and called to the elf in the tree. "Legolas." "Aragorn" Legolas acknowledged him with a nod. "come up, gwador-gaur, I could use the company." the man climbed tree fast, sitting just above Legolas in the tree. "What troubles you, Mellon?" he asked. Legolas sighed " it is foolish, but an elleth disturbs my peace." do you mean a pack elleth, like Tauriel? That is easily remedied, you must simply court her, and ask her for her heart." "it is not that simple Estel. She is no gaur-elleth, pleased beyond reason to have the Alpha's son as a mate, to have the prince as a lover. She is a pure Edhel Elleth, and has never even met me before this, though she knows me now, and she is my everything. But I cannot just court her, she is pure, and I couldnt ask her to love a wolf, you know this Aragorn." Aragorn was silent for a time. Then he asked. " how did this come to pass?" Legolas thought. "it was winter..."

Ooooooo

Legolas prowled through the forest, his white coat blending in almost perfectly with the high snow drifts. As his father was taking a turn leading the normal elves, the young Alpha should really have been watching the pack, the elves who had been affected by the wolven rangers, but though his elven side, wich never really left him, was centuries old, he had always acted not a day beyond a hundred. His wolven psyche was a curious thing, a mix of his own mind and identity, and a wolfs way of thought and instincts. He had left the pack in Tauriel's care, for though his father had made her omega,he still thought of her as the capable lead beta she had been. He loved snow, but he could not stop. He thought to bring back prey, for his pack. The scent of blood filled his nose, but something prevented him from following it. He cocked his head, confused. Then, it hit his ears at once, a shattering cry. A scream, long, shattering, terrifying, full of pain and fear. He re-analyzed the scent of blood, and smelled a young, pure ehdil. No. He couldn't let this alone, one of his subjects, dying. He raced after the scent, another heartwrenching scream spurring him on. It led him to a clearing. He stopped, analyzing the threat. Bloody, broken arrows covered the clearing, and a shattered bow lay at his feet. A warg, bleeding from many wounds, was backing a figure against a tree. If the warg was bleeding, then the figure was absolutely mauled. Tears ran down its cheeks, and even in it's weakened state it was trying to fight back. The warg, growled. It's victim had nearly escaped, and had hurt him. Now he would kill it, and watch its blood color the snow. Legolas growled in rage. He launched himself at the warg, tearing its belly, making wounds deeper. When his teeth closed around its neck, it gave up and ran. Next, Legolas cleaned up the blood the best way he could, so that any predator coming here wou"ld not target the young, wounded ehdil. He gritted his teeth and ate the tainted snow. Now that the ehdil was as safe as possible, he could care for it. He nosed it onto its back. It was a petite elleth. She could not have been more than a hundred years old. Traces of puphood still clung to her tearstained face. She probably had very pale skin, but it was practically snow colored now. Her bright red lips were frowning, partially open in a snarl of defiance. Her eyes were shut, the long, midnight lashes resting on deathly pale cheeks. Long, many shades of gold hair spread in a pillow of curls around her shapely face. Her dress could once have been pink, elegant , and clinging to her shapely body, but it was torn and bloodstained. Her shapely, elegant, delicate form was bleeding from a thousand cuts, a thousand wounds. The snow around her was rapidly turning red. She was the most beautiful, innocent sight he had seen in a long time, and she was bleeding, dieing in the snow. He shifted back to his true form, so that he could better examine her. He brushed a hand over her abdomen, a feather light touch, but it pained her enough to wake her. He could feel her torn skin through her dress. She opened her eyes, which seemed to be a mix of green, blue, and brown. Another tear leaked out. Her eyes focused on him. "please." she whispered. "I don't know who you are, but please help." then her eyes shut, and blood loss took its toll. Seeing there was nothing left to do, he shifted back to wolf, and pushed her onto his back. Carefully, he ran back to camp. When he arrived in the clearing, he wasted no time. "follow me!" he called. "we must move. No questions. Lead betas." he gestured to five wolves." protect the pack. Betas, do as they say. Omegas, you too. Sealdur." one of the omegas raised their head. "bring my clothes. Tauriel, come here." a lean, russet omega separated herself from the other omegas. She trotted to him. "my lord?" she looked straight at him. He turned, just enough to let her see the wounded elleth drapped across his back. "she was attacked by a warg. He broke her bow and tore her abdomen. We havent time to take her to the healers. She is the reason we travel tonight. I want you to cover her trail. Get rid of any sign that we have a wounded member of our company." "yes, my lord." "gloriel!" the third omega raised her head. "bring Tauriel's clothes." he told her. She nodded. The wolves, twenty at the moment, hurried to follow his orders, they took the clothes they used when not wolves, and any supplies. The five lead betas surrounded the pack, the two omegas, excluding Tauriel, at the center. In a moment, they had deserted the camp, and were making across the field at a good pace. Legolas was careful not to jostle the elleth, who he thought of as his to protect, his Alpha instincts driving him to protect her from absolutely anything. Tauriel followed him, eating the snow as he had done to discourage predators. They stopped at a camp a few miles away, a place they only went when it was too cold to camp in another place, or when one of their number was wounded. It was a sheltered ravine, with caves for shelter. Legolas gently put his burden on the ground in front of a cave. He stood over her protectively as he waited for his pack to pay attention to him. When he had their full attention, he told them of the elleth. "I found this elleth outside of camp, alone. She is gravely wounded, and In need of our protection. So we will give it, wholeheartedly. She is our primary concern, and everyone must attend to her first, even before the omegas. If we are attacked, she is defended before anyone else, at least until she can care for herself. If we go hungry, she is given first choice of food. And when she is wounded, like now, she is given our best care and love." "is she pure?" asked Naurmellon, a standard beta. "yes." Legolas told him. "do you...pardon me, but do you sense the scent on her?" asked Aewen Cuil. "like I would know." Legolas's eyes darkened for a moment, before he raised his head. "get some rest, all of you. Hunt. Settle in . And Tauriel, come here. Sealdur, you bring healing supplies, please." they obeyed, and with Tauriel's help, Legolas moved the elleth into the healing den. Once there, he shifted back and carefully pealed the ruined dress away from her abdomen. What he saw sent a pain through his core. He closed his eyes briefly. 'no wonder it snapped her out of a coma with pain.' he thought. He cleared his throat. " Sealdur!" he called. "hurry up with the herbs, please."

endofchapter

Ive decided to go multi chapter. Any questions, I answer by review. Yes, the cliffhanger was very necessary.


	2. With bated breath

Hey guys! Sorry for the lack of updates, I've been at my grandparents. Speaking of which, happy 2016! Thank you to Hobbitjunki for reviewing. Just to answer the question that Hobbitjunki brought up, Tauriel is already a werewolf. Used to be a beta, but after loving Kili was demoted to Omega. This is set around two years after BotFA. The only non-wolf mentioned by name so far is the wounded elleth, and since the warg wasn't a werewolf, she isn't either. Sorry if that was unclear! Anyway, as always, reviews are welcome, in fact pleaded for, and now, on with the story!

Startingchapter

"Saeldur, hurry up with the herbs, please!" Legolas called. He surveyed the damage, planning what was needed. While not a trained healer, he did have some knowledge of it, all warriors did, and he was also the elleth's only hope. This meant he was trying very hard not to panic at the gruesome sight before him. The warg had obviously targeted her abdomen, because torn, jagged strips of skin lay pulled back from the stomach, exposing the raw muscles underneath. These too were torn in some places, exposing her organs, which thankfully appeared to be intact. There was also more blood then he cared to think about. He was very thankful he was not squeamish. Tauriel took a look. "And, this is hopeless." she sighed. Legolas shook his head. "not hopeless. I really wish we hadn't moved her though." 'it can't be hopeless. She's too... Beautiful...No. Young! Too young to die.' he thought. 'and beautiful.' thought a voice in the back of his head. A glance at Tauriel was enough to quell that, though, remembering the last time he'd thought someone was beautiful. His thoughts were interrupted as Saeldur came back, carrying a bundle of herbs. He gave him a nod of thanks, then turned to the elleth. His heart clenched again, almost painfully, as he saw the gaping wound, contrasting so violently with the fair face. Taking a deep breath, he tried to decide the course of action. That was hard, the sheer amount of blood overwhelming. He reached out to gently touch the edge of the wound. His fingers had barely grazed it when she tensed, and her eyes flew open. She cried out in pain, and he withdrew his hand quickly. "where... A-am I?" she asked. She tried to sit up, but she yelped in pain and fell back on the floor. "hurts..." she groaned. "hurts... So much..." Legolas approached her. "don't worry, you're safe now. I'll help you." he held out some poppy seeds, good for making people drowsy. "eat these. They'll help you. Don't worry, you'll be fine." "poppy seeds..." she sighed. "good for inducing slumber." she glanced at her stomach and grimaced. "Shouldn't you be using horsetail or marigold for bleeding?" he was surprised that she was able to recognize what remedy she needed in her state, but he had to admit he hadn't thought of it. "good idea." he said, giving her the required herbs. She put Them in her mouth and swallowed, then closed her eyes. Within moments, she was asleep. Legolas continued murmuring assurances that she would be fine, but he wasn't sure which of them he was comforting. Her organs were intact, something Legolas checked repeatedly, since a twisted bowel or a split stomach could be fatal, and the blood had washed any dirt out, so he began the grisly job of painstakingly piecing her muscles together. All the while he kept talking, murmuring assurances, because a knot of worry had built in his stomach, and he wasn't sure of the exact cause. Then some stitches, made from a fibre that would dissolve when her muscles healed. Then he had to pull and stitch the flaps of skin together, praying none was missing, which it somehow wasn't. When that was done, it had begun to grow dark outside, and the betas, led by ithillaswen, were bringing in the catch. Legolas stopped to check his work, still murmuring assurances. Then he realized that he had stopped murmuring things like 'don't worry, I'll take care of you.' and more like he would say to a dear pet, or a hurt child. He stopped, because judging by how long she had fought the warg, and how she had wounded it, she would not take kindly to being babied by someone she had just met-even if the assurances had been more for him than for her. Then he ran his hands over her body, looking for anything more serious than a cut. He tried to preserve her modesty, leaving Tauriel to check for things like a rib broken over the heart or sternum, a broken pelvis, or a thigh broken more than three quarters up her leg, but he carefully went over every inch of the rest of her body. Her head and face, where he found a deep claw mark from her ear to her jaw, which he cleaned quickly to prevent scarring, her arms, one of which hag a dislocated shoulder and a crushed forearm, and long, deep teeth marks over the forearm. With Tauriel holding the wounded elleth down, he put both hands on her upper arm and pushed down. The shoulder popped back into place with a crack. He bound it, then applied marigold and chervil to the cuts, to prevent infection. He then bound and splinted it. He went over her sides, feeling nothing, and her back, where he felt a deep groove in her skin. He turned her over carefully, and peeled back the ragged dress. Four deep claw marks tore her flesh, from her shoulderblades to the small of her back. He sucked in his breath as he caught sight of gleaming bone. He quickly cleaned them, and applied more crushed marigold and chervil. As he spread it, he felt something in her ribcage shift under his fingers. Carefully, he felt over the area again until he felt it again. He noted the broken rib, making a mental note to tell Tauriel to bind it when she looked over the elleth after him. He ran his hands gently over her calves and feet. He found a snapped bone, right above the ankle, and he bound and and splinted it as well. As he worked, he tried to distract himself by picturing the attack in his mind, based on her injuries. She had probably fought the warg while running, which explained how the warg had had access to her back. Maybe shooting at it while running had slown her down some. Viciously wounded, the warg had had no mercy, and when it caught her, it had grabbed her ankle, breaking it, and tripping her. Unable to support her body, her leg had givin way, and she had sat against the tree to protect herself while she continued shooting. Or the warg had thrown her against it, accounting for the broken rib. Somewhere in there, it had scratched her face. It had broken her forearm and givin the scratches on it to prevent her shooting, dislocating the shoulder in the process. The warg had been cruel, and decided to kill her slowly. It had begun mauling her abdomen, and she had screamed, which had attracted him. Despite that, she hadnt stopped fighting, and he suspected she trained in the guard. Funny, then, how he'd never met her. Of course, she was obviously young. She must have joined recently. Satisfied with his treatment, he let Tauriel finish it. Giving her instructions to find the elleth a blanket to cover up with, and to leave some clothes for her to wear when she awoke, he shifted and left. He took a piece of rabbit from that evening's hunt and lay down by the cave to eat it. Apparently, Aewen Cuil had taken his instructions to treat the elleth better than an omega seriously, because he watched as she lit a fire and began roasting a small piece of meat. When it was cooked enough to be soft, she took it off. She filled a skin with water and, carrying the food and water, she picked up a bundle, she brought it to the cave. He barked a question up at her. ' what are you doing?' "you said to treat the elleth better than an omega. I thought she might want something to eat and drink, and some new clothes. I brought them. I couldn't find a blanket, so I brought a cloak instead." she answered. " is that alright?" though Aewen Cuil was a respected beta, she could often be as shy as an omega. 'it's fine.'he told her. ' you can take them in.' She nodded, and stepped past him into the cave. He heard her explain to Tauriel what they were for, and Tauriel's thanks. Then she came back out just as he was finishing his rabbit. He shifted back, in order for him to be able to talk to her more conveniently. "how is she?" he asked. "Tauriel found two more broken ribs. She was binding them when I saw her. Besides that, the elleth is fine. She hasn't woken up yet, but the poppy should be wearing off soon." Aewen Cuil turned to him. "by the way, I've seen how you look at her. Don't worry, no one will judge you for finding your soulmate!" she laughed at his spluttered protests and skipped off. 'don't be silly...' he thought. He shook his head and knocked gently on the cave wall. "may I come in?" he asked. "of course." he heard Tauriel's voice, and stepped in. Tauriel was just spreading a burgundy velvet cloak over the elleth. The cloak had a rabbit fur lined hood. Tauriel stood, holding a muddy pink bundle that was the remains of the ruined dress, obviously unfit to wear. "I'll get rid of this." she said, gesturing to it. He nodded. "good. I'll watch the elleth." she gave him a look. "she needs supervision." he told her. "that warg wounded her more than anything I've ever seen." Tauriel sighed. "you're right. It worries me. They usually aren't so bold." she shook her head. "fine. I'll tell you if anything happens with the pack." "lle hannon." she left, and Legolas sat against the wall, across from the elleth. 'who are you?' he thought 'please, live. You can't die...' she didn't answer, obviously. He had wanted to watch her out of necessity, but also because he felt a strange protectiveness for her. Sighing, he leaned back, preparing for a long watch-and he wasn't even sure he minded. As he fell into dreams, his last thought was that he could save the mystery of how she stirred his emotions into turmoil for later.

Endofchapter

Sorry that took so long. Hope you enjoy! Virtual cookie to anyone who reviews! So, Who is this mysterious elleth? And what is with the warg? Find out if you review!

In the name of fantasy,

So long!


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